Army Combat Divisions in World War I

Army combat divisions suffered the most casualties of United States military forces in World War I. 

The National Defense Act of 1916 established three components of the United States Army: the Regular Army, National Guard, and Volunteer Army.  The Regular Army consisted of full-time professional soldiers, the National Guard was composed of state-based citizen soldiers, and the Volunteer Army was raised specifically for wartime service. The provision for the Volunteer Army was used to create the National Army made up of citizen volunteers and drafted men.  The act also established an Officer Reserve Corps and Enlisted Reserve Corps. 

There were only eight regular Army divisions in existence on April 6, 1917, when the United States entered World War I.  Fifty-one Army divisions were organized during 1917-1918.  Thirty divisions saw combat with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF).  Thirteen divisions arrived overseas and were redesignated as depot divisions and used to provide replacement units and troops to combat divisions at the front.  Eight divisions organized for combat but were in training at camps in the United States when the armistice was signed at the eleventh hour on November 11, 1918, in a railroad care in the Compiegne Forest, near the town of Compiegne, France.

The professional officers and enlisted men of the Regular Army, the citizen soldiers of the National Guard, and the volunteers of the National Army had differences in training, experiences, and culture.  However, they were unified in their shared sacrifice and determination to accomplish their assigned mission and to win the war.

The War Department issued General Order No. 73 on August 7, 1918, that declared:

“This Country Has But One Army – The United States Army.” 

All three components: the Regular Army, National Guard, and National Army were officially unified into the United States Army on August 7, 1918.

Funeral of American soldier behind front line trenches. Photograph from the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

The Supreme Sacrifice made by Combat Infantry Divisions in the AEF

The combat divisions suffered at least 283,687 casualties, of which 49,455 were killed in action (KIA) or died of wounds (DOW), and 234,232 died of disease, died of other causes, or were prisoners of war. 

Regular Army Divisions: 96,022 casualties, of which 17,772 were KIA or DOW.

National Guard Divisions: 115,532 casualties, of which 19,238 were KIA or DOW,

National Army Divisions: 72, 133 casualties, of which 12,445 were KIA or DOW.

Seven Regular Army Divisions

1st Division “The Big Red One” activated on May 24, 1917, organized with troops of the Regular Army in France.  The Big Red One suffered the most casualties at 26,332 of which 4,899 were KIA or DOW.

2^nd Division ”Indian Head Division” activated on October 26, 1917, organized with troops from the Regular Army and Marine Corps in France.  Total casualties at 25,076 of which 4,478 were KIA or DOW.

3^rd Division “Rock of the Marne” activated on November 21, 1917, organized at Camp Greene, Charlotte, North Carolina.  Total casualties at 18,154, of which 3,102 were KIA or DOW.

4^th Division “Ivy Division” activated on December 10, 1917, organized at Camp Greene, Charlotte, North Carolina.  Total casualties at 14,183, of which 2,986 were KIA or DOW.

5^th Division “Red Diamond” activated on December 11, 1917, organized, at Camp Logan, Texas.  Total casualties at 9,883, of which 1,908 were KIA or DOW.

6^th Division “Sight-Seeing Sixth” activated on November 26, 1917, organized at Camp Forrest, Georgia and Camp McClellan, Alabama.  Total casualties 576, of which 97 were KIA or DOW.

7^th Division “Hourglass Division” activated on December 6, 1917, organized on January 1, 1918, at Chickamauga Park, Georgia.  Total casualties at 1,818, of which 302 were KIA or DOW.

Eleven National Guard Divisions

26^th Division “Yankee Division” activated on July 18, 1917, organized in Boston, Massachusetts with National Guard units from New England states.  First National Guard and third division to go overseas.  Total casualties at 15,168, of which 2,168 were KIA or DOW. 

27^th Division “New York Division” and “Orion Division” activated on July 15, 1917, organized at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina with New York National Guard units.  Total casualties at 11,218, of which 1,791 were KIA or DOW.

28^th Division “Keystone Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Hancock, Georgia with Pennsylvania National Guard units.  Total casualties 16,277, of which 2,531 were KIA or DOW.

29^th Division “Blue and Grey Division” activated July 18, 1917, organized at Camp McClellan, Alabama with Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington DC National Guard units.  Total casualties at 6,159, of which 940 were KIA or DOW.

30^th Division “Old Hickory Division” activated on August 28, 1917, organized at Camp Sevier, South Carolina with North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee National Guard units.  Total casualties at 11,081, of which 1,652 were KIA or DOW. 

32^nd Division “Red Arrow Division” activated on August 26, 1917, organized at Camp MacArthur, Waco, Texas with Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard units.  Total casualties at 13,884, of which 2,898 were KIA or DOW.

33^rd Division “Prairie Division” activated on August 25, 1917, organized at Camp Logan, Houston, Texas with Illinois National Guard units.  Total casualties at 9,253, of which 1,002 were KIA or DOW.

35^th Division “Santa Fe Division” activated on July 18, 1917, organized at Fort Sill, Oklahoma with National Guard units from Kansas and Missouri.  Total casualties at 7,854, of which 960 were KIA or DOW.

36^th Division “Texas Division” or “Arrowhead Division” activated on July 18, 1917, organized at Camp Bowie, Texas, with National Guard units from Oklahoma and Texas.  Total casualties at 2,710, of which 1,591 were KIA or DOW.

37^th Division “Buckeye Division” activated on August 26, 1917, organized at Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Alabama with National Guard units from Ohio.  Total casualties 5,923, of which 992 were KIA or DOW.

42^nd Division “Rainbow Division” activated on August 1, 1917, organized at Camp Mills, New York, with National Guard units from every section of the United States.  Total casualties at 16,005, of which 2,713 were KIA or DOW.

Twelve National Army Divisions

77^th Division “Statue of Liberty Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Upton, New York with officers and enlisted men mostly from New York City.  Total casualties at 11,956, of which 1,990 were KIA or DOW.

78^th Division “Lightning Division” activated August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Dix, New Jersey with officers and enlisted men from Delaware, New Jersey and New York.  Total casualties 8,159, of which 1,359 were KIA or DOW.

79^th Division “Cross of Lorraine Division” activated August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Meade, Maryland, with officers and enlisted men from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC.  Total casualties at 7,590, of which 1,396 were KIA or DOW.

80^th Division “Blue Ridge Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Lee, Virginia with officers from Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia, and enlisted men from Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Total casualties at 6,763, of which 1,141 were KIA or DOW.

81^st Division “Wildcat Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, with officers and enlisted men from North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.  Total casualties at 1,051, of which 250 KIA or DOW.

82^nd Division “All-American Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Gordon, Georgia, with newly drafted men from Camps Devens, Dix, Lee, Meade, and Upton that represented every state in the Union but mostly Eastern States.  Total casualties at 8,228, of which 1,338 were KIA or DOW.

88^th Division “Fighting Blue Devils” or “Clover Leaf Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Dodge, Iowa, with drafted men from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.  Total casualties at 800, of which 17 were KIA or DOW.

89^th Division “Rolling W” or “Middle West Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Funston, Kansas, with drafted men from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska New Mexico, and South Dakota.  Total casualties at 8,813, of which 1,419 were KIA or DOW. 

90^th Division “Tough Ombres” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Travis, Texas, with drafted men from Oklahoma and Texas.  Total casualties at 8,010, of which 1,387 were KIA or DOW. 

91^st Division “Pine Tree Division” or “Wild West Division” activated on August 5, 1917, organized at Camp Lewis, Washington with most of the officers from California, Oregon and Washington, and enlisted men from Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Utah.  Total casualties at 6,496, of which 1,390 were KIA or DOW.

92^nd Division (Colored) “Buffalo Soldiers” activated on October 24, 1917, organized at Camps Dix, Dodge, Funston, Grant, Meade, and Upton, from colored officers and enlisted men from all parts of the United States.  Total casualties at 1,680, of which 185 were KIA or DOW.

93^rd Division (Colored) “Blue Helmets” activated November 23, 1917, organized at Camp Stuart, Newport News, Virginia with National Guard units from Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington DC.  It never functioned as a division but as four separate infantry regiments attached to the French Army: 370th.  Total casualties 2,587, of which 574 were KIA or DOW.